Chrono Trigger: Time Eclipse
by Ray Stryker
Summary: A few years after Chrono Trigger's close, Crono, Nadia, and Janus investigate a dark tower floating where Zeal once reigned. Then things get interesting...NOTE: I havn't played Crono Cross, so don't flame me if I mess something up that happens between the
1. Chapter 1: Darkening Twilight

  
Note: A reference is made to a story called The Lifeblood Project, which I havn't written yet. If people like this story, I'll write LP. I also imply a few things which either didn't happen in the game, or havn't happened in a fic yet. I'd like to make this openended. If anyone sees an implication they would like to expand upon or develop history to, just email me your intent. Anyway, please read and review. This is going up in chapters, and I'm not sure when it will al lbe complete.  
  
Chapter 1: Darkened Twilight  
  
The stars twinkeld softly. They turned their gentle gaze down on a sleeping world. A world that had undergone tragedy, death, desolation, and destruction.  
  
Or should have, Crono thought to himself.  
  
Instead, the disaster had been averted. In a journey that spanned centuries but took a few weeks, Crono, and friends he met along the way, had fought Lavos and saved the world.  
  
The journey hadn't left them unsctahed, however. Robo had seen centuries, and though he seemed to function, a few hundred years of watching life go by, alone, had to scar any psyche. Even an artificial one. Janus's sister, Schala, had been lost in the time stream after freeing the group from Zeal's prison.  
  
Janus had been distraught, and for a while is ability to continue was a question.  
  
But the worst loss, the biggest hardship, was wondering if it was all over or not. Lavos had been slain, true. But he had spawned. He was not the only of his kind. That there were more out there, combing the heavens for planets and civilizations to feed on.  
  
So every once in a while, more and more frequently in fact, Crono would cross the bridge thet led to the Heroe's Monument, and contemplate this, while silently scanning the skies.  
  
"Crono." It was Nadia. She walked up silently behind Crono and placed her hand on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him.  
  
"Is it over?" He asked, softly. His icy blue eyes, so in contrast to his dark red hair, never left the stars.  
  
"Oh, Crono." Nadia rested her head on her husband's shoulder and sighed. Crono looked down at her and smiled softly. Then he turned his gaze back to infinity above.  
  
They stood like that, holding eachother. Nadia trying to lend her reassurance to the man she loved, Crono looking to anchor a part of his soul here, where it belonged, not roaming the skies in fear.  
  
Crono sighed, for a moment content. That moment was ruined by a chill whihc seemed to creep into the air, siently yet swiftly. "We should go in now." He remarked gently.  
  
Nadia, noticing the chill as well, agreed. They turned, now hand in hand, back toward the bridge. The Heroe's Monument stood, normally tall and proud, but now posessed of an eery difference. On top of the Heroe's shoulders, a figure crouched. The moon was behind him, casting a silhoute that vaguely resembled various interpretatins of Death. The figure heald a scythe, the blade hanging a few feet above his head.  
  
Crono, stepping back and pushing his wife behind him, hopefully out of harm's way, reached for his katana. The sword made of the rainbow shell had earned the nickname "Prizm" Glenn had remarked it was sharp and strong enough to cut light itself. Crono hoped it would be sharp enough now.  
  
A click sounded behind Crono. Nadia had loaded her crossbow. Before he could draw another breathe, the scythe appeared, blade-first, in the ground. The blade reflected the myrad skies, stars filling its length. The dark figure landed behind the scythe and flung ou his arms. His night blue cape billowed out biehind him in the growing breeze. The man's hands were open, palms facing upwards in a seeming gesture of peace.  
  
"Janus." Crono said, dropping his gaurd. A resounding click from behind him signalled Nadia had also lowered her gaurd.  
  
"I've come to ask for you assistance." Janus said, not mincing any words. He lowered his arms and retrueved his scythe.  
  
"How did you return to this time period?" Crono asked, sheathing his sword.  
  
"He didn't. You never left, did you. You knew without the Epoch, you would have no chance to. find yor sister." Nadia interjected, stepping forward. She flipped a switch on her crossbow and it folded into a narrow black box, which she then pocketed. "Lucca made it for me." She answered the unspoken question.  
  
"Let's talk inside. It's getting cold out here." Crono suggested while scanign the stars one last time. Janus glanced up at the moon, then the trio turned and crossed the bridge that connected the Monument to the backyard of Crono and Nadia's summer home. Nadia took Crono's hand, and he kissed her on the cheek.  
  
In silence, the three entered Crono's house. Crono locked and bolted the door as Nadia turned the lights on. A comfortable living room was revealed, with a sofa and two easy chairs surrounding a coffee table.As they situated themselves, Nadia attempted to chat and smalltalk, but an annoyed look from Janus convinced her to make everyone coffee.  
  
"Sorry for drawing on you. I should have known you love to make an entrance. I've just been edgey ever since..." Crono began after Nadia had left the room.  
  
"You havn't been sleeping well since the discovery of the Lifeblood Project, have you?" Janus inquired. "Niether have I." Janus answered his own question before Crono's reply.  
  
"I've taken to scanning the skies at night, wondering. Every shooting star, once something of beauty, now holds fear. I still havn't told her. No need for both of us to lie, sleplessly, waiting for a bang that signals a Lavi has impacted." Crono said, solemnly. A minute more of silence passed before Nadia returned.  
  
"I'd ask one lump or two, but I don't feel like hitting either of you tonight." Nadia said lightly, warmth in her azure eyes. Crono smiled obligingly as he took his cup. Janus just gave her a blank stare. "Sheesh, I try to tell a joke and I risk freezing to death." She remarked, a touch sarcasticly, but she took a seat and didn't attempt any more humor.  
  
"So what type of 'assistance' do you require?" Crono asked.  
  
"Do you remember the coordinates of Zeal?" Janus queried. Crono nodded that he did. "Well, there is something floating there now, in THIS time period. Only, it isn't bright and full of granduer, like Zeal, but dar and twisted. I only just spotted it a few days ago, but I can feel the malevolence radiating from it. I'd like ot investigate." He said simply, yet resigned.  
  
"Why not just go youself? You're extremely powerful." Nadia said, a puzzled look on her face as she sipped her beverage.  
  
"Because I use shadow magic. This...abomination that floats in our sky has the shadow feel to it. My magic would be vastly innefectual, as would that." Janus gestured to his scythe, the Night Reaver. It had been forged with some of Lavos's brain material. The blade now showed the stars from some distant part of the galaxy, instead of reflectign the silver of normal metal. "The Prizm you carry would be exceptionally powerful in this place. And Nadia, your healing abilities run counter to this thing's nature, and they would be useful." He finished, and set his coffee cup on the proffered coaster.  
  
"Alright, we'll do it. Crono needs an adventure to take his mind off of whatever is eating him anyway." Nadia said, almost cheerfuly. "Who else is going to come? Are we going to reassemble the whole crew?" Nadia asked, hopefuly.  
  
"No, just us." Janus said. "Remember, only three can cross time at once. Besides, three is a sacred number. It's more than superstition. I've found that when chanting a spell, if I repeat the action phrase three times, It vastly increases the effect." Nadia looked disappointed.  
  
"We should visit Melchoir and have him forge you a scythe from the fe remaining rainbow shell fragments." Crono said, resignation settling upon his features.  
  
"There is no need. I have heard of a scythe, the Celestial Reaver. It is supposedly forged of the sun and the moon, and crafted by the hand of the father of Masa and Mune." Janus replied.  
  
"Great, where is it?" Nadia asked.  
  
"The correct question would be 'when is it?'. And the asnwer, just after the beginning of time. Its power grows with time, but I only know of its location then. Even at its weakest, it will eb a formidable weapon." Janus asnwered, only a touch indignantly.  
  
"Well, let's get some sleep. In the morning, we'll pay Lucca a visit and get the Epoch." Crono suggested. No argument was forthcoming, so the three retired.  
  
***  
  
The sky seemed blacker, the stars dimmer, as Janus searched them. Or maybe it was his perception. The heavens dimmed by what he knew and what he felt. He sighed and turned from his stargazing. He jumped off of the Monument's shoulders and began walking back to Crono's house. He passed Crono, who also could not find sleep. Their eyes met, and each nodded. They walked back to the house in silent understanding.  
  



	2. Chapter 2: Lucca's Gift

Err, another note. I know I hint at stuff that's easy to pick up on, but hasn't actually been written yet. I always found reading the middle book of a trilogy first interesting, cuz you can learn enough to enjoy it, bt you're still left wondering about the first and third books. This is more open ended series than a trilogy, but, if enough like it, it'll give me a reasonto write more;). R and R as you go please!  
  
Chapter 2: Lucca's Gift  
  
"Hey guys, come on in!" Lucca said as she saw Crono and Nadia approach from behind her screen door. Then she noticed Janus. "What's he doing here?" She asked, surprise, then a friendly warmth registering on her features.  
  
"You delivered my life size doll to the Middle Ages. I bespelled it to leave the Epoch when you stopped then." Janus answered, some of the normal coldness leaving his voice. Most likely satisfaction.  
  
  
  
"Oh. No wonder I got such a cold shoulder for that ride. Well, come on in." She chattered pleasently, opening the door and ushering them in. "Watchj your step. Dad's been on me to clean up, but I havn't gotten around to it yet. Come on over and have a seat." She led them excitedly to the kitchen, rambling about her newest invention.   
  
"You guys just hear to chat, or do you need something?" Lucca queried, still surprised at seeing Janus, and took a seat in one of the less cluttered places at her kitchen table.  
  
Crono looked at his best friend since he first moved to the suburbs outside of Gaurdia. "We'd love to stay and chat Lucca, but," He began.  
  
"We need the Epoch." Janus finished.  
  
"Oh why, what's up?" She asked, her voice taking a serious tone.  
  
"I'm sure you've seen on that radar you invented. Something floating at Zeal's coordinates. We're going to investigate it." Janus answered.  
  
"Oh. Okay. Can I come along?"  
  
"No, I'm afraid not. We have to do some time travel, and you know the rules. Besides, this thing has an evil feel to it, and 3 is a sacred number. I'm sure it's turned up on many of your formulas."  
  
"Oh. Well, this way." Lucca said, a little downcast. She got up and led them to her basement door, which she opened and held for the trio. "Don't touch anything untill I get down there, okay." The group headed down the stairs, Lucca taking up the rear.  
  
The basement was eery. It was lit solely by a glow from various monitors and readouts. A lab table stood in the center of it all, some small device visible on the table, a few peices of paper catching the ethereal glow.  
  
"Neat, huh?" Lucca said, and flipped a switch. A light came to life over the lab table, revealing its contents. The device appeared to be a picture frame. The papers looked like detailed schematics. In the backwash of the light, various things and half completed experiments could be seen littering the floor. Crono wondered how such a genius couldn't invent a way to stay neat and organized.  
  
Lucca walked over to the table and picked up the picture frame. She tossed it to Crono, who caught it easily."Here. It's a communication device. I have one, and so does Robo. It can communicate through the space time continuim, so no matter where, or when, you are, we can talk. Just push the little button on the side, there, and a menu comes up. Touch the screen to tell it what do to." She explained.  
  
"Thanks." Crono said, and pocketed the gift.  
  
" I figured I'd find a way to help out, even if I couldn't go. I'm eventually going to make one of these for everyone we traveled with, just to keep in touch." She said, a smile on her face hid her regret that she couldn't go along. She walked over to a wall and pressed her hand on a panel. A section of the wall lifted up to reveal a corridor. "Come on." he said, and the three followed her.  
  
The corridor was well lit and about 100 yards long. "Hey Crono, remember that old baseball field we used to play in?" Lucca asked, growing excited, as she always did when talking about her inventions.  
  
"Yeah. It became overgrown and no one has done anything with it." Crono replied, a touch nostalgicly.  
  
"Well, I buit a launching facility for the Epoch underneath it. Hydraulic lifts bring it up to ground level, and I built a runway in case I ever build any other forms of air transportation." She said, as they came to the end of the corridor. They met face to face with a wall, blank except for a small panel off to one side. Lucca pressed her hand against it and part of the wall lifted up, revealing a fairly llarge hangar.  
  
"Neat, huh?" She said, while turning to grin at her companions. The all nodded and followed her into the hangar.   
  
The Epoch was there, on a platform. A set of stairs led up to the platform, and a small console at the top appeared to operate the lift Lucca had told them about. The large room was surprisingly neat and organized, very little cluttered the walls or the floors. Off to one corner of the room, a tarp covered what was most likely Lucca's most recent large venture.  
  
"Okay guys, I havn't changed anything on it. I have added something, however. A small cannon made from components Robo left me schematics for. They are imbued with shadow energy, similar to his weaponry. It's fairly powerful, able to punch a hole through a few feet of steel. I guess it won't be much use with the nature of what you're going up against, but it's there if you need it. A slide gauge controls the power level and a red button fires it. It's well marked, you should have no trouble." Lucca explained brightly while leading them up the stairs.   
  
"Alright, hop in, I'll operate the lift. Take off at the all clear buzzer." Crono, Janus, and Nadia climbed into the cockpit, and with a wave goodbye, Nadia closed the glass. The world seemed to drop as the three situated themselves, the hydraulic lift doing its job. In a moment they were on a black strip, marked with white paint and a few lights. As Janus grabbed the controls, a buzzer sounded.   
  
With the push of a button, they lifted off into the sky, and left Lucca behind, waving goodbye.  
  



	3. Chapter 3: A Rather Strange Occurance

Yet another "brief" author's note...for the legal stuff, I don't own Chrono Trigger, or any of its characters, landscapes, or schematics. I DO own the characters not seen in the game, a few will be coming up in subsequent chapters. That being said, I have never played Crono Cross. Just CT. So don't shoot me for any incrongruancies, K? Oh, and all apologies for my frequent misspelling of Hero's...  
  
Chapter 3: A Rather Strange Occurrence  
  
Janus took the controls of the Epoch and waived off Crono when he reached for them. Nadia attempted to input coordinates into the autopilot system, but was glared at heavily. Sighing, she let Janus fly. Though he would never admit to it, he had always loved flying the Epoch.  
  
"Let's investigate the floating castle a bit before obtaining the Celestial Reaver." Janus said, studying the controls. He gently banked the aircraft towards their destination and increased the speed.  
  
A small black dot appeared on the horizon.  
  
"Woah. A screen with crosshairs and a movable camera let you aim that laser Lucca was talking about." Crono said, intent on a small control board with various levers and buttons, his face colored by a soft glow from the screen in front of him. A beep sounded, and Nadia and Janus turned to look at him accusingly.  
  
"What, I didn't touch anything this time." He protested. The beep sounded again. It seemed to come from Crono's pocket. He withdrew the communications device Lucca had given them, which proved to be the sound's source. "Incoming Call" was flashing inside the transparent glass screen, alternating with "Touch Screen To Answer". Crono did.  
  
Lucca's face appeared, the myriad screens of her lab behind her, looking a touch concerned. "Crono, I forgot to tell you. I started work on an energy shield system for the Epoch, but never finished it. I was actually working on it when you guys showed up." The image moved as if it were actually Lucca. Crono was quite amazed. Looking around for somewhere to speak into, he decided to try just talking to Lucca's face.  
  
"That's great, Lucca, but what does that have to do with..." He started, but was cut off.  
  
"That means, don't touch anything labeled 'Energy Shield," okay?" Lucca answered. Crono nodded.  
  
"Sure, Lucca, you're the genius." He said.  
  
"All right, bye, everyone, and good luck!" With a wave, Lucca's face disappeared, and the screen went back to being transparent. Crono blinked, wondering how Lucca was able to come up with so many amazing things. She had said that this device could cal Robo, so Crono assumed she could to. Which means Robo had to have one. In that case, Robo must have given her the schematics for some of the technology from the 23rd century, and Lucca had built one. Crono turned it around in his hands. It seemed fairly new, as in just made a week or two ago, which meant Lucca could have been working on it for all of the three years that had passed since their grand adventure.  
  
Crono looked up from his pondering. Janus had an ever so slight hint of a grin on his face as he steered the craft with ease. Nadia gazed out at the clouds, feeling as though she were out among them. Crono shifted his gaze outside the Epoch. The small dot had slowly grown into a castle that seemed very familiar.  
  
"My castle." Janus said, surprise evident in his voice. The looming fortress ahead did indeed bear a great resemblance to Janus's former home. The castle was on top of an inverted pyramid of rock. The whole thing appeared to have been hewn roughly out of the ground and pasted into the sky. It hovered ominously with no obvious supports.  
  
Crono reactivated the cannon and used the gun's camera to zoom in on the floating fort.  
  
"Yeah, it is your castle. I can even see the gargoyle on top of that spire." Crono said, fiddling with the camera.  
  
"I can see the gargoyle too, without the aid of that." Janus aid, the previous surprise erased from his voice. Now he just seemed annoyed.  
  
"Well, I can't, but it does look awfully familiar." Nadia added. The castle was getting much larger as they finally approached it. It was indeed Janus's castle. Or it appeared to be. Janus circled slowly around the fortress, dark even in the early afternoon sunlight.  
  
"It is, down to the last detail. Damn." Janus sounded frustrated as he set the Epoch to hover. "Well, we have two options." He said after leaning back from the controls. "We could go to the beginning of time, get the scythe, and storm the place in a bout of heroics similar to the last time you two were at this castle." He stated with a sarcastic chill in his voice.  
  
"Or?" Nadia and Crono prompted, simultaneously.  
  
"Or, we go back to 600 AD and figure whether or not this is my castle or a very good duplicate." He replied, already fiddling with the time controls. "Then when we finally enter, we'll be more educated as to where we are and what we're doing." He finished, matter-of-factly. Crono and Nadia both agreed to the latter.  
  
"All right." Janus said, and he pushed the Chrono Trigger button. A bright flash left them exactly where they were. The castle was still floating in front of them, dark and ominous as ever. The time clock, however, read 2:13 p.m., July 22, 600 AD. A look of annoyance crossed his face, and Janus turned the Epoch towards the coordinates of his former home. In silence, he increased the speed, and in just a few minutes, they reached the mainland.   
  
As they closed in on the crater that now resided to the south of Gaurdia, where the Magus's castle had once stood, proud, defiant, and twisted. Janus, now frowning, set the Epoch down about ten yards from the western lip of the fairly large crater. Wordlessly, he popped open the time machine's dome and hopped out. Crono and Nadia, puzzled looks on their faces, followed.  
  
Janus stood on the edge of the gaping hole that had once been his home, about to step down into the crater, when he found his progress impeded. Crono and Nadia were also halted in midstep when they tried to get any closer than a foot away from the edge.  
  
Janus, annoyed, picked up a handful of dirt, which he crumbled up and lobbed at the center of the whole. With a spray, the dirt stopped and spread as if it had just hit a wall. Perplexed. he turned to the married couple, who stood watching with interest.  
  
"Nadia, cast Ice 2, and target it right there." Janus said pointing, a curious look had settled on his face. Janus began chanting as Nadia began her spellcasting. Crono stood back and watched as a bright light lit up over the center of the crater, about 50 feet above ground level. Immediately after, a sheet of water in the shape of a dome fell around the crater.  
  
"Some kind of magic?" Crono asked, unsure of what to make of it.  
  
"No, I would feel it. Something else has created a barrier here that cannot be crossed. I would assume it's all just an over-elaborate and entirely unnecessary illusion, but I don't feel the magic. We simply cannot get into the crater." Janus sounded a touch perplexed, trying to hide his confusion.  
  
"Well, we can't do anymore here. Let's get that Celestial Reaver and storm your castle, in a bout of heroic stupidity." Crono said with a glare at Janus, who shrugged. Crono picked up a nearby rock and threw it at the invisible dome. Sure enough, it stopped at the edge of the hole and bounced off the unseen wall. He shrugged and returned to the Epoch, trailing just behind Nadia and Janus.  
  



	4. Chapter 4: The Celestial Reaver

Chapter 4: The Celestial Reaver  
  
Janus took the controls to the Epoch as Crono closed the glass dome. Nadia situated herself. The Epoch lifted of sharply, and Janus fiddled with the time controls. Satisfied with his adjustments, he punched the Chrono Trigger sharply, and the Epoch slammed forward, into the past. Janus seemed perturbed.  
  
They arrived to see a fairly desolate world. It was mostly desert and mountains, no streams, rivers, or any other water source. No life, either animal or vegetable seemed to make it's home out in these desolate wastes.  
  
"I thought the world's beginning would be a more...lively affair." Nadia said softly.  
  
"There's nothing. It's a wasteland. Are you sure you know what your doing, Janus?" Crono inquired, surprise in his voice. Janus dismissed his worries with a wave.  
  
"Why should it be full of life? You saw Ayla's time period. A few trees and a lot of volcanos. Why should even before that be any different?" He answered Crono in an annoyed tone. He was taking the theft of his castle very seriously. Before this whole matter had been just another dark, foreboding, evil object to investigate and perhaps gain more power or a clue to his sister's whereabouts. Now, it was personal. Very personal.  
  
Janus pointed the flying time machine towards 0,0 and punched the acceleration. "It's supposed to have been forged at the center of the world. I think that may literally mean its core, but this will be someplace to start." He explained, regaining a little of his patience.   
  
Nadia and Crono sat in silence, contemplating this strange world that would evolve into their own in a few hundred aeons. Crono took Nadia's hand and held it. They were now trusting their lives, once again, to someone who had tried to kill them. Crono and Janus had actually become friends, though Nadia was not sure how. She thought they had been acting close ever since they had come back from dropping Robo off in his time period, but both had refused to talk about anything that had happened.  
  
But friendship aside, Janus had still attempted their lives. Even though it had been over 3 years ago now, Nadia still felt edgy around the sardonic sorcerer. Crono wasn't bothered at all by him, however, and she took that as reassurance.  
  
They approached what appeared to be an oasis. Crono let go of Nadia and activated the camera that was used to aim the cannon, and zoomed in on the small patch of green in the desert.  
  
Indeed it was an oasis. Palm trees surrounded a small lake that held an azure beauty unmatched by waters in their time. A small hut, apparently of dried palm leaves, appeared to be the only non-natural thing in sight, but it was hard to confirm anything else from the cockpit camera.  
  
Janus set down a few yards from the oasis and popped the glass dome open. The three got out and approached the only life they had seen thus far. The oasis was fairly large, as large as one of the small towns outside of Gaurdia. The lake was a good 100 yards across, and a sense of peace and tranquility came over the trio. Even Janus got a content look on his face and stopped snapping at everyone.  
  
The tropical environment was intoxicating and entirely unexplainable. Crono spotted the hut they had seen from above and they moved toward it at a surprisingly unhurried pace. Janus felt more than just peaceful and content however, he also felt power. Lots of energy. The oasis seethed with it. He was too busy enjoying it to contemplate however, though later he would realize that this must be where everything began, including magic. That meant that this was the largest concentration of pure power ever.  
  
But those thoughts were far from his mind as they approached the hut. It was indeed made of dried palm leaves, a few feet in length and a foot wide. It seemed to be supported by hollow wood-like poles. The hut seemed as if it was maybe 10 feet by 10 feet. Some more of the hollow wood tubing served as a doorless frame which led inside the hut. Nadia was the first to enter.  
  
"Woah." Was all that was heard. A few seconds of the silence and Crono and Janus both followed her in.  
  
"Woah." The simultaneous response. The inside of the hut was quite large. A luxuriously furnished room lay before them. Silk drapes lined the many windows, and a lush carpet with myriad colors lay out on the floor before them. In the center of the room was an old man, sitting contently and sipping tea. Noticing the trio, the old man looked up from his tea. His eyes where the blue of the sky, with a glint in them that could very well be the sun. They possessed a deep, ageless quality that defied definition.  
  
"Visitors, I see. Come, have a seat. I am Melchesadik, the father of all you see before you." His voice was pleasant, like the sound of a stream in the forest during spring's first bloom. The three seated themselves at chairs close to the old man at the round table he sat at. Four more chairs sat empty.  
  
"Father, that means that your God!" Nadia exclaimed softly. Crono and Janus's eyes widened.  
  
"Well, that's not entirely true. A god would meddle more often. I have just created this place, and watch and observe. I have not directly interfered in my world since creating it." He explained, with a slight chuckle. "Now, it's not everyday I get visitors from the future. Tell me, why did you come here?" He asked pleasantly.  
  
"How did you know..." Nadia began in wonder, but Janus answered her question before it was finished.  
  
"We are, in a way, his children. He can recognize his own, and since we haven't been created yet by him, we must be from another time." He interjected thoughtfully.  
  
"Very good." Melchesadik said, nodding. "I'm sorry, I've been a horrible host. Would you like some tea?" All three nodded their heads at once, and cups of hot tea appeared in front of them. Each found the tea to be the best they had ever had, though afterward it was impossible to tell what the flavors were.  
  
"Melchesadik, how does what we see before us evolve into the life we know millions of years from now?" Crono asked, speaking for the first time.  
  
"I don't know." Melchesadik answered. "It hasn't happened yet. I may be immortal and have immense power, but I am still stuck inside of time." Satisfied with the answer, Crono returned to his tea. "Now, why did you three come and visit me?"  
  
"I have heard of a weapon forged at the beginning of time called the Celestial Reaver. We have come to see if we can obtain it." Janus explained.  
  
"Oh, that thing. I forged it for my counterpart, Beelzebub, but he didn't like it. Too flashy for him, he said. The sun and moon didn't go with his whole death motif. Anyway, if that is what you wish..." With a flourish, the old man disappeared. The room and the entire oasis soon followed suit, vanishing as if the had never been there. All except for the lake. The lake still shimmered in its azure glory. At the edge of the water, latched on to a rock, a speck of moss grew.  
  
Janus now held a scythe in his hands. He never actually felt it until he saw it. The blade looked to be made of a silver metal, and shone softly like the moon. The 6 foot long handle it was attached to shone as gold, but had a transparent feel to it. It was surprisingly lightweight. Janus hefted it and smiled.  
  
"Now, we must return to your time, and defeat the bastard that would dare steal my castle." Magus said softly, but the chill and intent behind those words cut like an icy knife. The three returned to the Epoch in silence, savoring the slowly fading euphoric feeling that had possessed them since they had first set foot in the oasis.  
  



End file.
